Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (video screenshot)
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg believes the "new normal" will be waiting for days or even weeks after Election Day to know the outcome.
"One of the things that we and the media need to start doing is preparing the American people that there is nothing illegitimate about this election taking additional days or weeks to make sure all the votes are counted," Zuckerberg said in an interview with Axios reported by Summit News report.
He has said Facebook won't allow candidates to announce they have won unless there's a "consensus."
Without a "consensus," he said, his company will add notes to any such statement.
Zuckerberg: "what we and the other media need to start doing is preparing the american people that there is nothing illegitimate about this election taking additional days or weeks to make sure all the votes are counted." pic.twitter.com/lGdnWMUzgm
— Zach Vorhies (@Perpetualmaniac) September 7, 2020
Zuckerberg also worried about "civil unrest" during the time between the election and the announcement of results.
President Trump and other Republicans have expressed concern that vote fraud could take place during that time, particularly with mail-in balloting.
On Tuesday Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said his office in investigating an allegation that 1,000 voters who voted in the state's primary in June by mail voted again in person.
Raffensperger said there were not enough double votes to change election results. But he warned double-voting is a felony in the state, with fines up to $100,000 and prison time of up to 10 years.
Fox News reported Democrats are dominating the requests for mail-in ballots.
"After five months of tweets and soundbites from President Trump warning that voting by mail will lead to a 'rigged election' and 'massive voter fraud,' a clear partisan divide is forming among those participating in that process," the report said.
"Election officials in key general election battleground states are noticing a surge of requests for absentee ballots by Democrats – upending a trend of Republicans in some crucial states typically dominating voting by absentee ballot through the mail."
For example, in North Carolina, three times as many Democrats as Republicans have requested mail-in ballots.
Similar trends are being reported in Florida and Pennsylvania, where ballot requests by Democrats are nearly triple those of Republicans, the report said.
Polls show 56% of Republicans have plans to vote on Election Day, while 26% of Democrats say that.
One concern is that some states are sending ballots to all listed voters despite evidence the rolls are inaccurate. Another concern is how to track when mailed ballots arrive and whether they meet the deadline. Some states are moving to accept ballots as late as days after Election Day, opening the door for votes to be solicited for a candidate who is behind.
Republican National Committee national press secretary Mandi Merritt said Republican voters "are highly motivated by their enthusiasm for President Trump and are going to vote – many just prefer to vote in person either by early voting or on Election Day."
"The reality is no one is better at turning out voters than Trump victory, and the Biden campaign simply can't match our ground game."
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